Bolly Who?
by imaginaryvigilante
Summary: *ON HIATUS* When Alex loses her memory, it's up to Gene and the team to help her remember who she is. But will Alex remember anything at all? Or will Bolly be forgotten forever?
1. If The Heel Fits

**I'm baaaaack! I've discovered that my muse is absolutely the best at arriving during study leave. The following story was thought up somewhere during Statistics and Biology revision :D**

**All characters you recognise are not mine.**

**BIG BIG BIG thankies to warbs1981 for beta duties :)**

* * *

"With record breaking temperatures, meteorologists predict that the heat wave will continue until next week. People are urged to avoid spending long periods outside and in their cars."

Alex Drake sighed irritably, switched off the T.V and looked at the problem before her. Laid out on the coffee table were her favourite boots. Her favourite white leather, calf hugging boots that made her that much taller than everyone else. Problem was, they were broken. Not _broken _exactly, but the heel of the left shoe was wobbly. Picking up said shoe, she carefully manipulated the heel to see how much pressure it would take to fall off completely. _Not a lot of leeway then, _she thought as the heel made a complete 360 degree rotation. If Alex were to wear them, she was going to have to carefully place her heel down as she walked, or else fall arse over tit.

Flinging the shoe back onto the table, Alex made her way to her wardrobe to see if she had anything else to wear on her feet. Considering the weather outside, boots were not the perfect choice of shoe but Alex didn't think she had any summery-type shoes or shoes that would even be an acceptable substitute. Unfortunately she was right; all she had was the hooker shoes she'd arrived in. Although, they did make her legs look really good. She reminder herself to wear them next time she went out somewhere other than Luigi's.

_Bleep, bleep, bleep._

The watch on Alex's wrist bleeped angrily, snapping her out of her thoughts of where such shoes would be appropriate. Unfortunately all that sprang to her mind was 'brothel'. Vowing to buy herself some new shoes in the near future, Alex swiped the boots off the coffee table and carefully hopped into them as she made her way to Fenchurch East.

* * *

God, it was hot. So hot in fact, that the pavement was actually steaming and that the idea of spending the day in a room full of 1981 constructs was becoming less and less enthralling. The idea of staying at home all day was becoming more and more tempting.

Taking a deep breath, and well aware that her top was already sticking to her back, Alex pushed open the doors of CID. Upon entering she noticed three things. The first two concerned the fan that was going full blast; it sounded like it was going to explode and was making absolutely no difference to the temperature of the room. At all.

The third thing she noticed was the lack of movement in the room. The heat seemed to affect everybody; it was as if someone had pressed 'slow mo' on the remote of life. Well, this life anyway. Ray had fallen asleep with a less than savoury magazine on his face, Shaz was showing Chris how to make a paper fan – Dear Lord, the boy had actually made a hat instead – and everyone else was either sleeping or smoking. Alex couldn't see if Gene was in his office; the blinds and door were shut.

Alex walked carefully over to her desk, making sure not to put extra pressure on her left heel. As she sank into her chair, she congratulated herself on making it to work without breaking her shoe. Her celebration was interrupted with a small, yet meaningful cough. Alex snapped her head up and saw Gene standing over her desk, gesturing to his office. _Oh, bugger. _Letting out a small huff, she tried to nonchalantly walk into Gene's office.

"Yes Guv?" Alex asked, plastering an innocent smile on her face.

Gene just scowled at her. Christ, he was in a bad mood today. "An' yer late again why? If yer hadn't guessed Sleepin' Beauty, just because the weather's shit it doesn't mean the scum of the earth are takin' holidays. An' neither are we."

Alex blinked at the ferocity of his onslaught. "I…I," She stammered as she tried to think of a good excuse as to why she was late. 'My shoe was broken' wasn't an excuse that was going to fly with Gene. "I'm sorry Guv." She said finally.

"Good."

_Crabby git, _Alex thought bitterly as she made her way back to her desk.

If she had looked down at that moment, she would have seen the pieces of paper that had fluttered to the floor when the fan had turned around. But she didn't, and she let out a small 'shit' as her left foot made contact with that paper and slid forward. Alex did manage to catch herself before she followed her left foot forward, but the heel of her left boot was now even more wobbly. Walking was going to be bloody nightmare. Ignoring the sniggers that were coming from Ray's direction, Alex hobbled to her seat, muttering thousands of curses at the makers of her shoes._They can survive being run over by a Timothy White's van but they can't survive some slippery case files? Bastard shoes._

What was she going to do now? She could hardly whip off her shoes and walk around barefoot. That would just be weird. Well, weirder than normal. _I could ask Shaz to get me a pair from 'Lost and Found'. It doesn't matter if they use to belong to some homeless drug dealer. They'd be more comfortable than these at the moment. _Wondering why she didn't think of this before, Alex waved Shaz over.

"Yes Ma'am?" Shaz asked, fanning herself with the paper fan she'd made earlier. "God its hot innit?"

"Yes Shaz it is. Now, can I ask you for a favour?"

Shaz leaned in slightly, excited. "Of course Ma'am!"

"It's a bit embarrassing actually." Alex suppressed a smile as Shaz's mouth formed a small 'O'. "Can you go to the Lost and Found and –"

Gene heroically swung open the door of his office, "Post office blag 'as just occurred ladies and gentlemen. A-team, mush!" He declared, as Chris and Ray stood up, eager to be getting out of CID.

"What did you want from Lost and Found Ma'am?" Shaz asked again.

"Oh, just a pair of –"

"Drake!"

_Bollocks._"Coming, Guv." Alex sighed, standing up slowly. It was probably just a routine questioning anyway. It wasn't like she was going to be running anywhere. Her shoes could last until then.

* * *

"Got a limp Drakey?"

"No."

"Yer walking like a prozzie breakin' in new knickers."

Alex pouted, "I am not!"

Gene watched her walk and raised an eyebrow at her, "Are too."

"Not."

"Are."

Alex scoffed, "You are so childish!"

Now it was Gene's turn to pout, "Am not."

"Are."

"Come on Guv!" Ray cut in, marvelling at how easily his two senior officers could fall into an argument. "Open the bloody door before Chris melts."

"Right!" Gene said. "Let's fire up the Quattro."

If she wasn't afraid her eyeballs would stick to her eyelids, Alex would have rolled her eyes.

* * *

**A little short but plenty more to come :D**


	2. If You've Got It, Flaunt It

**Wow! Thanks so much for all of your responses to the first chapter :D Made me a very happy bunny indeed!**

**Again ta muchlies to warbs1981 for beta'ing this. Oh and I still don't own Ashes :'(**

* * *

The callout wasn't so much as a Gene-goes-in-guns-blazing-and-catches-all-the-bad-guys callout but a Let's-interview-every-single-person-even-though-they-all-have-conflicting-statements callout. In this temperature, everyone's patience was running thin. And as it was a Monday morning, the amount of witness to the armed blag were numerous. Even with plods on the scene it was simply a mad house trying to process everyone.

* * *

"Look! I don't bleedin' care _why _you were at the Post Office. Just tell me what you saw!" Ray snapped at the frail old woman he was questioning. The room went silent for a moment as her handbag connected with his face.

* * *

"So you saw two men –" Chris began, unaware that Ray being clocked around the face by a woman at least twice his age had caused the shop to go silent. Carrying on in usual Chris fashion, he opened his notepad and tried to give a caring look to the little Indian man he was talking to.

"I saw nothing," An eye twitch. Chris tried to ignore it.

"But you said –"

"I saw nothing." His eye twitched again. This was getting ridiculous.

"But –"

"Nothing." Another eye twitch.

Chris couldn't hold it in. He let out a small snort and promptly began choking.

* * *

"I came down 'ere this morning 'cause I was getting a present for me girlfriend."

Alex held up her hand, "You came to the Post Office? To get a present?" _And who said romance is dead?_

"Well no I was goin' to the lingerie shop jus' aroun' the corner. You know that fancy French one?" The twenty-something skinhead looked Alex up and down, "What am I saying? Course you do."

"Excuse me?"

"No offense mind. But you look like the type that knows good lingerie when you see it."

Alex shut her notepad rather forcefully. "Well yes, I think I've got all I need from you."

"I'm just sayin' darlin' if you've got it, flaunt it. And you 'ave definitely got 'it'." The skinhead stood up, leered at her and winked as he turned to leave.

"Makin' friends Bolly?" Gene said, as his latest witness stalked off, probably offended in some form or the other.

Alex visibly shuddered. "Why do I always attract the weirdoes?"

"Yer 'magnetic' personality?"

"Shut up." Something at the back of the shop caught Alex's eye, "Guv, I think there's something back there."

"Get the plods ter take a look. This is a bloody waste of my time. Collecting statements. Do the words CID mean nothin' to anyone anymore?" Disinterested, Gene began to walk off, occasionally shoving a random rubbernecker out of the way.

"But…" Alex began, frustrated. "Must I do everything around here?"

She slowly approached the back of the Post Office, well aware how fragile her heel was after walking around collecting statements. She also now knew how the Little Mermaid must have felt in the Hans Christen Anderson story. _It's like walking on knife point. If I fall I'm screwed._

It was clear to see the amount of damage the blag had done. The safe was well and truly open, but Alex didn't want to touch anything in case she messed up forensics. The noise however seemed to come from one of the storeroom, to the left of the safe. It sounded very much like a large rat, but Alex desperately hoped it wasn't.

Cautiously, she cracked open the door. To her relief it wasn't a large rat as she had expected, but a very small blagger crouched over a duffel bag, shovelling bundles of notes into it. Actually, relief was quickly replaced with shock as she realised the blagger was armed. And the pistol was trained on Alex's forehead.

_Damn it. Not again._

"What are you? Police?" The little blagger shouted, still training the gun on Alex's head. She noticed that his hands were shaking slightly.

"Uh…yes. DI Alex Drake. And you are?"

"None of your fucking business DI Drake." Alex almost let out a giggle. The blagger was trying to make himself seem tougher by using pretentious language. Coupled with a very put on low tone of voice, it was hard to take the situation seriously. "You're gonna let me go yeah? Or I'll shoot ya."

_I'd like to see you try, smart arse. _"Alright then." Alex raised her arms above her head as the blagger picked up the duffel bag and dug her in the back with the barrel of the gun. "How old are you anyway?" She wondered aloud, remembering rule number one of hostage taking, keep them talking; humanise them.

The blagger pressed the gun further into her spine. "None. Of. Your. Fucking. Business. Now move!" Alex whimpered slightly as was shoved into the main area of the Post Office.

"Get on the fucking ground!" Alex covered her ears as the blagger let a round rip into the ceiling, causing several people to drop to the floor quickly. The old woman Ray had been questioning earlier let out a small squeak and fainted dead away.

Gene, Ray and Chris quickly drew their own guns and aimed at the blagger.

"Guv! He's armed," informed Ray, clicking the safety to 'off'.

"Well I 'adn't really noticed Raymondo but thanks ter yer keen police skills I'm now up ter speed!" Gene snapped, annoyed that none of the plods had checked to see if all the blaggers had actually left the building before they began questioning.

"You're goin' down you scum!" Chris exclaimed.

The gun was once again shoved into Alex's back. "No I'm not! Lemme go or I'll shoot her!"

Gene scoffed, "Lad, you could shove the gun up 'er privately educated arse an' _still _miss."

"Hey!" Alex protested. "Why don't we just lay him down a wager?" She tried to shift positions as the gun pressed further into the base of her spine, but her left boot wobbled dangerously.

What happened next happened rather quickly, but may have been avoided if the plod that had snuck around the back decided to make a dash for the blaggers' gun. But he didn't and it did happen, so here we are.

The blagger raised the gun and let a few more bullets rip into the ceiling. As Gene was just about to fire, the blagger – who was actually quite cocky for a person of his stature – suddenly pushed Alex forward and made a run for it.

"Bugger!" Gene, Chris and Ray exclaimed simultaneously, holstering their guns.

"Go around the back!" Gene ordered and Chris and Ray took off obediently.

Alex however, hadn't fallen over. Instead, she'd given chase. Albeit, a slightly shaky chase at that.

"Bolly! Bolly! BOLLY! Shit!"

* * *

As soon as Alex had decided to give chase, she realised it wasn't the best idea. She'd twisted her ankle because of the wobbly heel, and the heat was making her feel lightheaded. She tried to block these things out as she charged down a side alleyway. On the plus side, the blagger was slowing down and Alex just had to reach out and…

_Snap._

If she wasn't so consciously aware of the state of her left boot, Alex would have never have heard the slight sound it made as the heel came away from the actual boot. She did, however, feel the tremendous decline in height, but as she was running, she could do little to stop herself from toppling forward.

It was a shame really that the alleyway in which she was now running down was being remodelled and the builders that were there in the morning had left a small pile of bricks out.

It was even more of a shame that Alex didn't see the small pile of bricks before her head made contact with them.

* * *

**Poor Alex. *smirk***


	3. I'm Sorry, Do I Know You?

**Eurgh I'm so sorry about the horrendous delay but, you know, Christmas, New Years, a campervanning holiday, University acceptance, and lots and lots and lots of forms for my Student loan got in the way...**

**Here's a longish chapter to make up for it :D**

* * *

Blackness swirled in front of her eyes. It felt like a mixture between falling and flying. It felt like she was somewhere between death and life. The silence was pleasant and welcomed and she wanted to stay here forever.

Hold on, where was she? And who was she?

"Bolly!"

The voice spoke gruffly with just a hint of urgency. But she didn't care. She wanted to sleep. Why couldn't she just sleep?

"Bolly!"

That name. It sounded familiar. She tried to open her eyelids; they felt too heavy. Who was calling her? Wait. Where was she?

"Alex! Open yer eyes yer daft tart!"

She didn't know who the voice belonged to, but it sounded like the type of voice she could trust. Begrudgingly, she obeyed and slowly fluttered her eyelids open.

"About time, Sleepy Knickers. I always tell yer ter wear proper shoes don't I?"

A blurry vision danced in front of her eyes. "Who ar– " She began, croaking slightly.

A youngish, rather handsome doctor walked rather suddenly into the room, as if he'd been waiting for the moment she'd cracked an eyelid open. "Ah good. You're awake Ms. Drake." He proceeded to shine a small light into her eyes. It hurt and she cringed, blinking several times rapidly.

_Wait. Doctor?_

"Doctor?" She said, starting to panic slightly, "Why am I in hospital?"

The doctor, in an attempt to calm her down, took her hand, "It's okay Ms. Drake, you took a fall and got rather a large cut on your forehead. We stitched you up but kept you in overnight to make sure you had no concussion."

Gently she reached up and felt the cut on her forehead. It stretched from her left eyebrow up to her hair line. She winced. _How did that happen?_

The doctor took his hand away from hers and looked into her eyes, "However, you've been given the all clear and your DCI has discharged you. You can leave anytime you want, but take it easy okay?" He turned to the other man in her room, "I think perhaps desk work for a week or so?"

_Alex. That was her name. How could she forget that? _

"Ponce." The voice in the corner of her room said as the doctor left her room, "Get yer knickers on Bolly. Dr Dreamboat said yer've been discharged by yours truly."

It was only as he said the last part that she properly saw him. He was tallish, with blonde hair and the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. She looked away. His blue eyes were almost burning into her. He looked very familiar but she hadn't the slightest idea who he was. How did he know her? And why was he in her hospital room?

She coughed a little before sitting up in her bed, "I'm sorry but do I know you? And who is this Bolly person?"

The man looked upset all of sudden, "Boll – er Alex. I'm Gene Hunt. Your DCI."

Alex –she was sure that was her name now – blinked, "DCI? What's that?"

The man, who was called Gene – apparently – sighed like he was in pain, "Come on Alex. Jokes over yeah? We've got scum to catch. I can't leave Chris and Ray alone much longer, they might chew the furniture."

Again she blinked, "Chris and Ray? Who…what are they? And why on earth would I want to catch scum? Especially with you! I don't even know who you are!" Her voice ran high with tension and she felt tears burning the corners of her eyes. "Get out of my room!"

"Shit," Gene muttered, seeing a tear roll down her cheek. He felt rather out of his depth – he was used to beating things into and out of people, but this was something entirely different. As much as it pained him, this needed 'professionals'.

"If yer can call 'im that," he muttered. He turned left out of Alex's room and went to find that poncey doctor.

"Oi! Dr. –" Gene faltered as he realised he didn't actually know the doctors' name. Dr. Dreamboat probably wouldn't fly.

"Kingston, Mr…DCI Hunt. Daniel Kingston." Daniel Kingston replied, looking up from the reception desk. "Can I help you?"

"I…er…Alex doesn't seem to remember…" Gene searched for a word that could describe his DI's current predicament, "…anythin'." He finished lamely.

Dr. Kingston's' eyebrows crinkled into a frown. "Really? This is odd. Follow me please."

Gene felt like a right twonk following Dr. Dreamboat down the hall like a lost puppy. He would have gladly slapped remembrance back into Alex, but the doctors knew what they were doing. Apparently. Even if they were rather poncey and all Gene wanted to do was whack him over the head with his stupid poncey clipboard.

Alex seemed to have recovered slightly from her initial 'tantrum', as Gene would now call it, and was sipping a cup of tea that Gene had actually made for himself while he was waiting for her to wake up. Not that he would admit that of course. Gene Hunt didn't stay overnight in a plastic hospital chair made by Satan himself, waiting for a beautiful – sorry ballsy – woman to wake up. If Chris and Ray were there, they'd have pissed themselves laughing.

"Now Alex, DCI Hunt tells me you don't remember..." He risked a small glance at Gene, "anythin'."

Gene really had to restrain himself from grabbing the clipboard and swatting Dr. Kingston over the head. And not just because he was talking to Alex like she was five.

Alex calmly placed the cup of tea back on the bedside cabinet. "I haven't forgotten him. I don't know who he is," she said sincerely.

Dr. Kingston's frown deepened. He shined the torch in Alex's eyes again, a touch of concern on his face. "Alex, can you tell me your full name please?"

"Alex…um…" She whispered, suddenly feeling very small. It was on the tip of her tongue but for the life of her she couldn't spit it out. Instead she dropped her head and closed her eyes.

"Nothing? How about the date?"

A tiny shake of her head.

"Your job?"

Another tiny shake. Gene winced inwardly. This was more painful than watching her use her psycho bollocks and failing.

Dr. Kingston stood up and sighed deeply. "I believe Alex is suffering from retrograde amnesia. The fall must have given her brain quite a shake."

_Retrograde amnesia. What the bloody hell is that? _"Will 'er memories return Doc?"

"It's hard to say. Often in cases like this, little sensory things, say a familiar smell, can trigger memories to return. I would like Alex to have a psychological exam to determine how much trauma and memory loss her fall sustained."

"She's a psychiatr…psychologist 'erself." As soon as he said that, Gene felt rather stupid. As if being a psychologist would make any difference in this matter.

"Really? Well I do believe she'd benefit from a little time with a psychologist anyway. I don't think she will remember her training at this time. With a little luck it should all return."

Gene tried to imagine Alex without all her psycho-babble. He couldn't.

Dr. Kingston gave Alex a sympathetic look. "I'm sure all your memories will return in time Ms. Drake. In the meantime I think DCI Hunt here is going to take you home."

"Okay." She whispered, giving a small nod. She was looking less sure of herself now.

"Relax Alex. Everything will be fine." Dr. Kingston flashed a dazzling smile in her direction as he left her room.

"Ponce."

Alex looked up at Gene, a slight smile gracing her face. "Take me home please. Wherever that is."

"Righto Boll…er…Alex."

* * *

"Is this it?"

The car ride to Luigi's had been in absolute silence, which would have normally been a welcome change for Gene, but this time it felt, well, weird not to have Alex mutter curses under her breath at him or moan about his driving skills. He drove carefully, although he was tempted to swing the car so Alex would bang her head on the window or something, you know, just in case it helped.

Luigi had been is usual over ecstatic self, showering Alex with long winded Italian praises that went over Gene's head. However it did some good because after five minutes of 'bellissima' and other similar sounded words, Alex's eyebrows knitted together until her face suddenly lit up.

"Luigi! Yes! I remember you! You make the best sea scallops and pineapple rings I have ever tasted." She stated, sounded rather smug. It was almost as if the old Alex was back. Sort of.

Luigi's smile grew until he was practically a smile on legs. "Signorina Drake! You like the sea scallops? I make you some more? And I give you a bottle of Chianti on the house yes?" He beamed at her.

"Do I like Chianti?" She'd whispered to Gene.

He gave her a look that clearly said 'yes and a whole lot of it', so she'd taken the bottle but declined Luigi's offer of food. For now. Then Alex followed Gene up the stairs and he'd opened up her flat for her.

Is this it?" She repeated, looking around. Gene had to admit it _was _a bit messy, but nothing to suggest the walls had caved in or it had been replaced by a cardboard box.

He dug his hands into his pockets and shrugged, "Yeah."

Again, Alex's eyebrows knotted together. "I…_live _here?"

"No I just decided ter bring yer ter some random place and leave you here." Gene replied. He sounded so serious that Alex believed it for a second. Then she realised he was kidding and she scowled at him.

"Well I wouldn't know any different would I? How could I? I don't even know my last name."

There was an awkward pause and Alex looked around the room before her. It didn't seem like the type of place she'd inhabit. But, then again, she had no idea who she was before her…amnesia. God, it felt weird using that word. Amnesia. That word was best suited in soap opera storylines and fan fiction. She shook her head slightly, as if trying to shake the memories back into place.

"Drake."

Lost in her thoughts, she forgot he…Gene…was still there. "I'm sorry?"

"Yer last name is Drake."

"Oh." Alex Drake. Alex Drake. She spun the name in her mind. It seemed to fit. But did she have a middle name? Parents? Children? Questions began building up in her mind, spinning around and around until she felt a bit sick. She wobbled slightly and her knees almost buckled. She braced for the floor but was surprised to find a hand clamped over her upper arm, holding her up.

"Don't want yer losing more of yer memories Drakey." He said, making sure she was well balanced before letting her go.

Alex smiled weakly at him, "I am rather tired now, so…um…if you wouldn't mind – ?"

Gene understood and began a hunt for his car keys. "Righto Drakey. I'll pick yer up tomorrow mornin' then."

Alex nodded as he made his way to her front door, "If you must." She didn't know why but she felt the strongest inclination to argue constantly with this man.

After he left, Alex slowly wondered around her flat, deep in thought. It was a strange feeling, not knowing who you were. It was sort of like being lost in a familiar place; like the terrifying first week of a new school.

Whoever she had been, that was in the past. It was time for a change.

Alex Drake was going to re-invent herself.

* * *

**Let the games begin ;)**


End file.
